A long time ago, at the end of the last ice age, Bergamo was a territory rich with lush nature. In the flat area to the northwest of the city, between the hills and the Maresana, there used to be a lake that, over time, has shed light on a number of precious findings of great archaeological interest.

The E.Caffi Natural History Museum in the Upper Town, preserves the remains of a mammutus primigenius (mammoth), whose impressive tusks are the subject of meticulous restoration. The left tusk has been completed and is on display in a humidity controlled area, inside the museum’s paleontology laboratory. Go and visit the E. Caffi Natural History Museum and put yourself in the shoes of a paleontologist! (035 286011).

The symbol of the E.Caffi Natural History Museum is a mammoth: a reconstruction of the animal awaits you at the entrance of the museum, where you’ll find tens of thousands of preserved paleontological artefacts.

At the beginning of last century the remains of an adult mammutus primigenius (mammoth) were uncovered in Petosino, a flat area northwest of Bergamo. They discovered a front leg, a few vertebrae and two huge tusks about 3 and a half metres long.

After years preserved in precarious conditions, the two tusks are regaining their former glory thanks to the museum’s restoration work.

The left tusk, already full restored, is on display in the Paleontology laboratory, alongside the right tusk that is currently being restored.

You can book a visit to the laboratory and transform yourself into a paleontologist, uncovering all the secrets of the mammoth and its habitat. A blast from the past will make you feel like an archaeologist for a day.